List finder



W. C. NEIN LIST FINDER March 2, 1954 Filed Sept. 2, 1949 Patented Mar. 2, 1954 umrsosTAras orslcs William C. Nein, New York, N. Y.

Application September 2, 1949, Serial No. 113,740

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to list finders and more particularly to an improved list finder having loose leaves or cards.

The main object of the invention is to provide an improved list finder which is simple to make, positive in operation and foolproof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a list finder of improved construction whereby any card thereof is not only held in a practical fixed position but also easily and quickly removable for reference or the entry of items.

In the accompanying drawing which forms part of this specification:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the list finder.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the list finder with the cover open showing the index cards.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of Fig. 1 on the center line 33.

Fig. 4 is a partial view of Fig. 3 showing the cover open and part of the index cards lifted with the cover. It also shows the index cards restraining wire spring which holds the cards on the loose leaf ring binder.

Fig. 5 shows the rear end of the list finder with the cover open, all cards lying fiat in the base, the loose leaf ring binder which holds the cards in hinged relation and the wire card restraining spring.

This invention is an improvement on the invention for a list finder shown and described in my application Serial Number 787,562 filed November 22, 1947, now Patent No. 2,556,734. In this application the same plastic shell with cover as in the above application is used, plastic moulds having been made and the item reduced to a practical saleable device. The only difierence between the two is: in the former, loose index cards are employed while in this case the index cards have holes suitable for insertion in a three finger binder in which they are held by means of a wire restraining spring as shown in the several figures on the drawing. However the cards are what is generally known as loose leaf, as they are easily removable, the operation being by first closing the cover, then moving the index arrow to the desired alphabetical character, then pressing the usual push button which releases and opens the cover. To remove the cards grasp all lifted cards close the top and bend out from under the card lifting finger. The actual removing is then done by gripping the cards near the bottom and pressing toward the cover against the wire restraining spring until clear of the three binding fingers. The cards can then be lifted out for whatever notation is to be placed on them and then replaced by reversing the above procedure.

Referring to the drawing, I is te case or base having a suitable space 2 for a stack of cards 3 which cards rest on a floor [0 in the base and are held in position by a finger binder 4' together with a wire restraining spring 5'. The cover is hingedly connected to the base I by means of a rod 5. The cover is biased to an open position by a spring 6 and when closed is held closed by a spring catch I mounted in the base I which catch 1 engages a latch 8 on the cover as shown in Fig. 3. A push button 9 when depressed releases the cover 4 which immediately takes the open position as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 exposing to view two of the index cards. The position of the stack of hinged loose cards 3 comprising the index on the floor of the base I is easily seen from the drawing. The cards are held by a finger binder 4' and secured in this binder by wire restraining spring 5' as shown.

The operation of the device while quite obvious from the several figures in the drawing may be briefly described as follows: Assume that a name beginning with the letter L is desired from the index. The first operation is to move the index pointer 24 to a position opposite the letter L on the cover 4, push the button 9 which will release the catch 1 from the latch 8 and the cover will be opened at once by the spring 6 exposing to view the two cards marked L, one standing in the cover and the other lying in the base as shown in the drawing. If it is desired to add a name to the list under the letter L, since all cards are loose just bend the cards in the cover out from under the lift finger 23, push this batch of cards back toward the cover against the wire restraining spring 5' until they are free from the binder ring 4' and then lift them out. As can be seen the bottom L card can be removed in the same manner. To replace the cards just reverse the above procedure.

I claim:

In a device of the class described, the combination of an open top base open at one end, a hinged cover biased toward an open position mounted on the base, a transverse hinge rod at the open end of said base holding said cover in spaced relation with said base, biasing means for the cover mounted on said transverse hinge rod, fingers projecting upwardly from the bottom of the base toward the cover adjacent the open end of the base, said fingers having end portions extending backwardly toward the open end of the base and with the free ends of the fingers spaced 3 from the bottom of the base, a plurality of loose leaf index cards mounted on said fingers, a card holding spring mounted on said transverse hinge rod projecting upwardly within said base to the rear of said cards and overlapping at least one of said fingers whereby said cards are removably held on said fingers, said card holding spring projecting upwardly against said cover when closed so as to add an initial additional opening bias means on said cover.

WILLIAM C. NEIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name Date Hall Aug. 2, 1896 Harter Apr. 2, 1918 Drucker Jan. 24, 1933 Pollock Dec. 27, 1938 Faas Feb. 15, 1944 Berger Aug. 10, 1948 Lang May 1, 1951 

